This invention relates to burial vaults. More specifically, this invention relates to an assembly for displaying and placing a funeral vault cover onto a vault base.
During a funeral service at a cemetery an assembly is set up that allows a vault cover to be displayed and lowered onto a vault base. Presently this is done using a support system that has tee rails attached thereto that have a cantilevered span that extends away from the attendees in the seating area of the funeral. A pair of cover carriages are then placed on the tee rails such that the tee rails form a track for the cover carriages. The cover carriages are thus secured to the vault cover to allow movement of the cover along the tee rails. Thus, the vault cover is moveable from a position over the top of the vault to a position away from the vault.
Though the system provides a means for placing a vault cover onto a vault base, problems with this system remain. Specifically, many vault covers are adorned with various features and engraving that have been purchased and placed on them by friends and family for displaying purposes. Because the tee rails are parallel to the ground one must be in a position to be able to look down upon the cover in order to be able to observe the features. Additionally, because the system places the vault cover away from the attendees of the funeral, in order for the attendees to observe the display cover they must either walk very close to the grave plot or walk around the grave plot. Furthermore, often the casket and cover are displayed simultaneously and the casket obscures the view of the vault cover adding to the viewing difficulties.
These viewing difficulties cause many problems such as individuals inadvertently causing cave ins by getting too close to the burial plot in order to see the vault cover. Additionally by getting too close to the cover, individuals can accidentally bump or hit the cover causing it to move from its position on the tee rails, and in a worse case scenario cause the cover to fall. Additionally, many times obstacles such as wreathes or flowers that are placed around the burial vault interfere with the ability of an individual to walk around the plot in order to see the vault cover. Thus, this design causes for many instances where embarrassment may fall upon an attendee and makes viewing of the vault cover difficult. In fact, in some instances, attendees even forget to observe the vault cover before leaving the burial area.
Efforts have been made to improve upon this system by angling the tee rails upwardly to slightly tilt the vault cover to facilitate the viewing of the cover. However, this solution also causes its own set of problems. Specifically, because of gravity and the large size and weight of the vault cover, there is difficulty in keeping the vault cover from rolling down the incline. Thus, the incline must be very slight which is not optimal for viewing. Additionally, the weight of the cover often causes the tee rails to straighten and eliminate the incline and view advantage created. Furthermore, when the casket and the cover are displayed simultaneously the casket still continues to block the view of the vault cover. Thus, problems as outlined above remain in that individuals still must walk up to the edge of the grave plot, or around the plot and casket to view the vault cover.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an assembly for displaying a vault cover and placing the cover on a vault that facilitates the viewing of the vault cover.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an assembly for displaying a vault cover and placing a cover onto to a vault that is ascetically pleasing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an assembly and method for displaying a vault cover and placing the cover upon the vault which improves upon the prior art.
These and other objects, features, or advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and claims.